Singing until Serene: Taizé Prayer Service Will be Held Thursday

WACO, Texas (June 19, 2013) - How do you pray? Openly through song and dance, or through private, silent prayer? The brothers in the Taizé monastery in southern France sing Scripture until "singing becomes serene," as they put it.

The Office of Spiritual Life will host a Taizé Prayer Service in the Spiritual Life Center Chapel at 500 Speight Ave. from 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.

"This is kind of an opportunity for faculty and staff who might not be able to come to chapel service and things that like, to have a special event that ministers to them," said Carlos Colón, coordinator of worship initiatives and a Resident Scholar at the Institute for Studies of Religion. "It's also an alternative for students who want to come to prayer and who need ministry also, but in a setting other than chapel."

Attendants will be led by Colón, Burt Burleson, university chaplain at Baylor, and Ryan Richardson, associate chaplain and director of worship at Baylor.

"Religious traditions in general have used singing as a kind of way of praying," Burleson said. "You just feel different when you sing (Scripture) than when you say it."

One of the chants to be sung is "Nothing Can Trouble," which is based on the words of Jesus, Colón said.

"I think that the words that we pray in a sense reveal what we believe about God and what we expect from God and how we commit to God," Colón said. "And so from that perspective you know it is the content of our prayers that's important."

Burleson and Colón hope to host Taizé prayers at Baylor more often. "If people got a feel for this, they would say 'I don't think I wanna miss that. I don't think I've worshipped like that,'" Burleson said.

Baylor University is a private Christian university and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having "high research activity" by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 15,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 11 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDIES OF RELIGION

Launched in August 2004, the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) exists to initiate, support and conduct research on religion, involving scholars and projects spanning the intellectual spectrum: history, psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science, epidemiology, theology and religious studies. The institute's mandate extends to all religions, everywhere, and throughout history, and embraces the study of religious effects on prosocial behavior, family life, population health, economic development and social conflict. While always striving for appropriate scientific objectivity, ISR scholars treat religion with the respect that sacred matters require and deserve. For more information, visit www.baylorisr.org